Til Death
Full Plot Erica has been dating Ryan for 3 weeks. At dinner the day before Sam's wedding, Erica tells Sam she needs to relax and she'll take care of everything. Josh tells everyone that Erica and Ryan are seeing each other, and jokes the first set of grandkids might be coming from them. Ryan gives an eloquent toast, whereas Erica can't put her heart into her speech, saying Josh is a real character with a unique sense of humor who tells it like it is. Sam is not happy with Erica's speech and is worried about tomorrow. Erica assures her she'll handle her speech, DJ and everything else. Josh is tired and wants to go to bed, as there is a wedding tomorrow and he wants to "get it over with." Seeing their stunned reactions, he says "just kidding". Erica is struggling with her speech, when Ryan wrote his already and it took 2 hours to write. He wants to know if she hates Josh, if she thinks he's not good enough for her sister. Erica responds: No, that's not it. It doesn't make sense. They're fighting all the time, and when they're not, they're uncomfortable with each other. Ryan commented that he wasn't an expert but watching two people doesn't tell him what goes on behind closed doors. Just because it doesn't make sense doesn't mean it doesn't work. As they are leaving, Ryan is kissing Erica in the hallway when Ethan and his estranged wife Claire show up. Erica is surprised to see Claire. Erica is busy coordinating preparations for the wedding. Josh appears and she doesn't want Josh to see the bride. She talks with Judith who reassures her everything will be fine, and at one point when Erica is getting a bit overwhelmed Judith takes over. Erica is asking Josh questions for her speech, for example about the first day Josh met Sam. He doesn't remember. She asks: Is there a moment or a day you realized you loved her? He doesn't know. Josh wants a picture with Erica and Josh on Ryan's motorbike, surrounded by the guys. Erica sits on the bike and Josh spills wine on her bridesmaid dress. She enlists Barb's help to get the stain out but it's permanent. Sam calls for Erica, and Erica asks a bridesmaid to talk to Sam while they cut the stain out of Erica's dress. Sam realizes something is wrong and comes out, and Josh is coming in and sees Sam. Josh denies seeing Sam, he only saw her hair and now he know what she will look at her mom's age. Both Barb and Sam gasp in horror. Gary: it would't be a wedding without a little drama. Erica fixes Sam's hair and says: I'll figure out the pictures, you won't see a thing. Sam, you're still not happy. What can I do to make you feel happy? Sam: It's not the dress. I have this horrible feeling in my stomach, I don't know if it's nerves or something more. Tell me that I'm crazy, tell me everything is going to be fine, that I'm doing the right thing. Erica asks if she's having doubts. Sam: I need you to convince me I'm doing the right thing marrying Josh. Erica hesitates, then says: People have doubts all the time. Everyone gets cold feet. It's just the stress of everything. Sam: Of course. Erica, tell Josh I'm sorry for freaking out. Erica finds herself in Dr. Tom's office. Dr. Tom: The most exhausting thing is being insincere. Erica: I'm not being insincere, I'm doing my job giving my sister the wedding she always wanted. Dr. Tom: Bridesmaids are dressed the same to ward off evil spirits. Your job is to protect the bride. Erica asks to be sent back to August 2003 when she intervened and got Sam and Josh back together. They were celebrating Sam's residency, Josh was an hour late, the situation degenerated, and he broke up with her on the spot. Erica secretly knew it was for the best but couldn't stand to see Sam upset, so she showed up on Josh's doorstep and said he was making a mistake. She wishes she would have stayed out of it. Now it's too late and Sam is getting married. Dr. Tom: It's never too late, you had a chance to tell her, but you never did. Erica: You don't tell them they're making a mistake on their wedding day. Dr. Tom: Why, because it's not convenient or not true? Erica: She wasn't asking for the truth, she was asking for reassurance. They broke up, they would have stayed broken up if I hadn't interfered. She goes back to 2003. She watches Josh and Sam break up, Josh walks out, and Erica tells Sam it's going to be OK. Later Sam is active and says I have all this energy, I'm awake and alive. I know he's been cheating on me for months. We don't talk, we don't have sex. He said I should go to his apartment and pick up my stuff. Erica agrees to go with her for support. They go to Josh's, pick up a box, and leave. Josh locks the door behind them. Sam says she feels like she's going to be sick. "He didn't even say goodbye." They get in the elevator and the lights go out. Erica remembers: Thursday August 14, there was a blackout, and they're on the 22nd floor. One of Josh's neighbors asks if they need a flashlight, and they go into his apartment, which is nice. There's a party on the balcony, and Erica says "I wouldn't mind sticking around for a bit" - she knows the blackout will last awhile because the whole eastern seaboard is down. Erica encourages Sam to go dance and she's having fun. Then Josh comes in with liquor and sees Erica and Sam. Later that night the party is still going. Erica and Josh talk and she tells him he did the right thing. He tells her to screw off. Erica wants to know why he hates her so much, and he's reluctant to say since he's drunk. Then he divulges how he met Sam. He switched lockers with someone in 9th grade because he liked this other girl Sam was with and they were close. Erica realizes he used Sam to get to get to a girl he liked, but it didn't work. He likes Sam but doesn't love her. They used to have fun and he thought things would change, so he faked it, but it never changed. "That's the thing, the heart wants what it wants, and from the beginning my heart has always wanted..." Erica realizes he's talking about her, freaks, shuts him down, tells him never to tell Sam, and then leaves. She drags Sam out even though she's having fun with Jeff, and says it's not healthy for you to be here. People who break up need space. Sam: Thanks for your help today. Erica asks if she still thinks she did the right thing. Sam responds: I think so... we used to hang out more, do this all the time, what happened? When we were little we would tell each other everything, and we just stopped. This is the first day in a long time you've been honest with me and I miss it. Keep doing it. Erica then returns to the present... and discovers the wedding is still on. She talks to Sam for awhile as she's getting ready. Later Erica sees Dr. Tom at the wedding and tells him nothing changed. Dr. Tom: The day after the blackout, Josh brought flowers to Sam and they reconciled. Erica goes to Josh and asks if he's excited to get married, but he's really drunk and warns she won't like the answer. Ethan and Claire interrupt, and Erica learns that they reconciled. Claire goes to the bar and Ethan tells Erica: Ryan seems like nice guy. He realizes Erica is upset, and she tells him it's about Josh: I know this wedding is a terrible mistake. I spent so long trying to protect Sam from pain and I can't find a way out of it. Ethan's response: Make a choice. Think about what is best for Sam and you'll know what to do. Erica talks to Sam privately: Some things you don't say. I have to say one of those things... The night of the blackout, we promised we'd tell each other everything and not hold back. Sam has a vague recollection. Erica continues: I broke my promise that night, I didn't want to hurt you. You struggled to make your relationship with Josh work. You had doubts this morning and it made me sick. I've always known Josh is not right for you. I tried to keep this to myself and didn't want to hurt you. But by keeping it to myself I am hurting you. Please don't marry Josh, he can't make you happy. You deserve to be with someone who loves you. Sam responds: You can head downstairs and you're going to watch me walk down the aisle, and stand beside me at my wedding. Sam leaves. She walks down the aisle, and they get married. When Sam hugs Erica she says I'm not really interested in hearing your speech, and after tonight I never want to talk to you again. Voiceover: "The heart wants what it wants. It forces us to act when reason dictates otherwise. It tears down walls, breaches boundaries. And for better or worse it leaves us in places the head would never go." Erica is devastated and tells Ryan she won't do her speech, that Sam knows why. She sees Dr. Tom and says: Please go away, I can't tell you how right you were. I should never have gotten involved, I didn't stop Sam from marrying someone wrong for her. Dr. Tom tries to soften the blow: It was not for nothing. You wouldn't choose the easy road. You did your job. The maid of honor's job is to protect the bride. You did everything you could, but that doesn't guarantee a happy ending. Erica rebuts: But the happy ending is the whole point. What diference does it make if I couldn't stop them? Dr. Tom: All lthe difference in the world.Category:Season 1 episodes